by Geoff Faulkner 01-27-2010 12:46 AM
Last week I was sitting down in my office eating lunch with a couple of colleagues. This one particular colleague of mine is a beast of a human being. He is 6’5” and 280 lbs. He played college football and also spent a couple of years in the Canadian Football League. We were talking about the Oakland Raiders current coaching situation as the legendary Al Davis and his crew begin to make their off-season adjustments. He said to me, “Do you know what NFL stands for?” I was trying to think of some kind of smart remark, but did not have anything for him. He said, “NFL stands for Not For Long.” I chuckled and said, “Yeah, I know” as I thought back to a recent blog entry in which I noted that the average career of an NFL player was 3.5 years.
3.5 Years? That’s like a blip on the radar. That is nothing. College lasts for 4 years. We are over 5 years old by the time that we enter Kindergarten. 1,277 Days. This is nothing. I played Minor League Professional Hockey for 2 years and when I use the word “career”, I feel like I am lying to myself and everyone that I tell it to.
The crazy thing about this 3.5 year period is that there is such a propensity for an athlete to live a lifestyle that can only be supported by the paycheck of major league sports, even though this paycheck will only last for a few years.
Take a moment to ponder the following statistics;
Stats like this are the reason why it is a good idea to finish college. If you are good enough to pick up a large signing bonus by leaving college early or coming straight out of high school, establish a budget and investment team and plan for the long run. By all means, go out and chase your dreams, but always have a backup plan.
Published 01-26-2010 © 2024 Access Athletes, LLC
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